At this she cast down her eyes and wept, and recited, saying:
May Allâh save the soul of him who is entombed,
For with him has justice been laid in the grave.
He allied himself with right, accepting nought in its stead;
And with right and with religion one has he grown.
"Whom dost thou mean by that?" asked Muʾâwiyah.
She replied, "The Commander of the Faithful, ʾAly, son of Abu-Tâlib [may God make gracious his countenance]."
"And wherefore dost thou praise him?" he asked.
"I brought before ʾAly," she replied, "a man whom he had made ruler over us; and betwixt whom and us there was no more difference than between the lean and the fat (of meat). And I found ʾAly standing praying. But when he saw me he ceased from his devotions, and asked gently and kindly, 'What dost thou want?' And when I told him, he wept. And he cried, 'O Allâh! be witness between me and them! I do not govern thy creatures tyrannously, nor rule over them contrary to thy law.' Then he drew from his pocket a piece of leather,
